Adios 2009, Hello 2010

It is already 7 days into the new year! How did that happen?  It never ceases to amaze me how fast time passes by.  Maybe it is because everything else seems to move more slowly in work time and then when I lift my eyes up and look at a calendar I become shocked at how fast the days and weeks have melted by.  So before too much more time passes in '10, I wanted to take a moment and reflect back on 2009.

Quite a number of things happened in '09.  I went to the Kennedy Center many times and saw amazing musicians (Jean Yves-Thibaudet, Lang Lang) and Cate Blanchett in my new favorite play "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams.  I also got to go to several amazing rock concerts, starting with Muse/U2 in Charlottesville and then MuteMath in DC.   I am so blessed that I got the opportunity to experience such wonderful art and performances by these musicians.

Though I didn't do much traveling last year, I did get to NYC for probably the highlight of my year, Red Bull BC One.  I love New York - I love visiting and being a part of the city. I can't wait till I go back again. Great things always seem to happen to me when I go to New York - or maybe it's because I go there for great things.  And as much as I love NYC, I love that I got to be a part of Red Bull BC One. I wish I could put into words how much I love this event and what it represents to me and how incredible it was to watch world premiere b-boys battle each other.  It also just shows to me how unexpected life can be - who knew that in March, when I first saw this event on MTV, I would just a few short months later be in the actual crowd?? That I actually got tickets when they sold out in half an hour? It's amazing that I got to go and something I will always treasure.

Lots of great books were read, lots of great music listened to, and lots of wonderful fun times full of family, friends, work, baseball, and Young Life.  I don't really want to get into too much depth about all that spiritually happened - if you're really interested, check out this previous post from a few weeks ago.

There are a lot of things that I want to do in 2010.  I want to have a new attitude about life.  I want to be very intentional about what I do and where I am going.  I want to travel, to go places - near and far.  I want to be present in my life, be intentional in the story that I am living.  I do confess to having fear about what that actually means, but that is part of what this year is going to be - overcoming those fears and moving forward in spite of them.

And I think 2010 wants me to be more intentional and fearless.  The few movies that I have seen recently as well as the books that I have read are all agreeing on this point, so I'm taking the hint.  Here's hoping that I can learn, listen, and grow.

Back to Posting!

This fall has been one for the ages, or to borrow a phrase from my high school friends, "epic".  I have gotten to do so many amazing things, create some awesome relationships, and limit my descriptive vocabulary to "amazing" and "awesome" because I'm so overwhelmed by all that I have gotten to experience.  Over the next few days, weeks, I hope to be able to break down some of my thoughts on the fun stuff that I have gotten to experience, as well as get back in the habit of posting on this blog regularly.

Just to highlight some of the awesome things I'll be posting about:

1 - Being in the THIRD ROW from the STAGE at RED BULL BC ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Greatest night of my life to date.  Check out this video...



2 - Seeing U2 live, fulfilling a lifelong childhood dream.

3 - Going to the MuteMath concert, which was probably the most crazy and awesome concert I've been to...unbelievable - I had no idea or expectations of what to expect and my mind was blown.

4 - Getting to see Muse open for U2 and being one of three people in the stands shamelessly dancing away to their songs.

5 - Experiencing the virtuosity of both Lang Lang and Joshua Bell, masters of their respective instruments and superb performances.

6 - Actually watching Cate Blanchett live, bringing Blanche DuBois to life on the stage in A StreetCar Named Desire - so powerful and moving!

7 - Writing and performing "Two-Minute Twilight" for YL Club...was kind of awesome

8 - Having great momentum at Young Life and getting to know some of the crazy (but awesome) kids that have been coming to club - for the first time ever, I feel excited for summer camp next year..

9 - Pulling off impossible work tasks that were thrown at me literally last minute before big events that we were doing or participating in...

10 - Having my sister HOME!

11 - Knowing that God has been lifting me and carrying me through all the crazy, amazing, awesomeness of this fall.  And knowing that He was with me through the depressing doldrums of the summer, just as He is with me now in this time of abundance and blessing.

And I end this post with this thought, because reading it this morning on my wall I realized it's truth in my own life this year:

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  And we rejoice in the HOPE of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And HOPE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT US, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us."
~ Romans 5:1-5